Recomendations for a novice
 

Though the Asian film scene greatly interests me, Ive seen a grand total of 3 Asian films: Ju-On, The Eye, and A Better Tomorrow. Do you fine Asian film-fans have any easy -to-fid suggestions for a novice such as myself?

I too am a novice to the Asian movie scene (I've seen about a rough 15 at most). Though, I highly reccommend Oldboy! It's my second favorite movie (if you haven't looked at my signature yet) and is the winner of the Asian Movie Tournament! It's well worth the watch, especially because it's beautifully crafted! There's your recommendation!

I second Old Boy as well as Sympathy for Mr. Vengence (is that out yet?) Not horror but amazing amounts of fun. If you find Ju-rei, avoid it like a plague-infected monkey-riding midget.

Also, Infection isn't overly scary but easy to find and fun to watch. Don't forget to check out Premonition as well.

Give 3 Extremes a go too, fun stuff. The list goes on and on but if you're into classic films (heh) check out Onibaba and of course you know about Akira Kurosawa's stuff right? Gozu, Zatoichi, hell if you want some kung fu action check out the Kung Fu Hustle and 5 Deadly Venoms. Netflix ALL of those... now. If you're looking for a good asian war film don't miss Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, I LOVED that movie.
Don't miss Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengance either. Or Roshomon. Dammit I'm naming too many; this is my last edit.

Oh, I'm sure a lot of people will tell you to check out Audition which is fine because it's a good film but I thought Tale of Two Sisters was better, get that one as well.

More Asian films to check out (mainly in the horror genre as the list would be too long with all genres).

Aragami
2LDK
Versus*
Suicide Club
Izo (not so much horror as WTF)
Stacy
Wild Zero (both Stacy and Wild Zero are over-rated though)
Junk
Biozombie (also over-rated)

Lone Wolf and Cub series,

i think Kurosawa would suit The Returns tastes as he prefers older classics ..

7 samurai
hidden fortress
throne of blood
yojimbo

I love Wild Zero, come on it has a DVD drinking game!

hmmm You've seen A Better Tomorrow,

but not The Killer or Hard Boiled ?
2 must see John Woo films.

also ...

check out

- The Funeral
- A Taxing Woman
- A Taxing Woman 2
- The Wedding Banquet (early ang lee - brokeback mountain was not his 1st gay themed film)

A Bullet in the Head is also a great one.

never saw that one .. it's a war movie right ?

The war plays a big part in the movie but its much more than that.Granted, its been quite some time since i've seen this one but from my recollections its more about friendship,betrayal......kind of reminded me of Deer Hunter in its epic story.
Of course it has John Woo's usual flair and gunplay.:D


now i'm gonna have to hunt this one down on DVD.

Kairo and Oldboy are obvious choices for beginners. After this, check out films by Akira Kurosawa, Yasujiro Ozu, Takashi Miike (just don't watch Visitor Q first!) etc.

ah yes.......babycart :D

and if you are having yojimbo you have to include sanjuro

heresy



nice 2 disc SE out here

Re: Recomendations for a novice
 

honestly it depends on what type of movies you enjoy, plenty of action and horror along with most other genres

I love Visitor Q. My other half picked it up and we thought it was excellent. Not sure what sort of film you would class it as and it's certainly not your typical Takashi Miike film.

Other films of interest:
A Chinese Torture Chamber Story, not what it sounds like and it's got some flying ninjas with kick ass sex techniques!?:p
Dumplings (which I think has a shorter version on the three extremes disc?) Weird but fasinating little tale.
Story of Ricky, for martial arts gore and stupidity.
Ichi the killer, if you like your more savage films, but stay clear of the UK disk, try to find the Dutch 2 disc special edition.
The Untold Story, yet again a bit savage in parts but still a good film.
Uzamaki. This film is just weird but excellent at the same time.
Versus, a good zombie swordfighting and guns film(there's not enough of them about).
Hope this helps.:)

duh .. add Kairo/Pulse of course

Thanks alot guys!

Ive looked for some Akira Kurosawa films in the past, but I'll be damned if Blockbuster carries any...I know they have some of the other ones you guys mentioned though, I'll be sure to check them out.


Thanks again, and keep the recomendations coming!

I came upon PULSE [KAIRO] in a Target store for $20. I didn't pick it up....is it worth it?
For reference...i loved The Eye,Ju-On, even the remake,The Grudge.

grab it for sure .. you wont regret it ..

i dont think i can burn you a copy - mine's in PAL .. region - whatever (UK)

if i didnt have an old badass hackable Apex player - i wouldnt be able to play a large nunber of my discs :D

It's absolutely worth it. In my opinion, this is the one J-horror movie that you definitely should see.

it's a region 3 disc, from the far east

If you are into your gore then I will recommend The Untold Story. The story is great and Wong's performance won him an award. It's not for the squeamish but worth checking out!

A couple of good watches that haven't been mentioned yet:

Entrails of a Virgin
Entrails of a beautiful Woman
The Eye 2

They dont have Kairo/Pulse at Blockbuster:(

I actually find that kind of surprising considering the upcoming remake...I'll check again soon.

I recommend these...

Horror:

The Ring trilogy
The Eye
Dark Water
Ju-On - The Grudge
A Tale Of Two Sisters
One Missed Call
Shutter
Pulse
and Uzumaki

Non-horror:

Azumi
Battle Royale
Duel Project - 2LDK & Aragami
Infernal Affairs
Returner
and Save The Green Planet

along with the eye, i reccomend juon , as well as one missed call.

they are both quite scary .

also cant forget kairo.

***bump***

The question by chaibill the other day made me bump this thread, and if its made a sticky, it will help immensely to those who are genuinely interested in asian movies.

I want all people who avidly watch asian movies, to come forward and fill this thread with their inputs, for the new people who want more asian movie recommendations.

For starters, I d recommend stuff from Takashi Miike's direction stable. He is one director who is a force to reckon with from the asian parts.



I d like to add Shutter, Ebola Syndrome, Tetsuo, Whispering Corridors, Memento Mori, and Wishing Stairs as recommendations too. Very nice horror movies, if you can track em down.

Go ahead guys, onward with your recommendations for our new asian horror fans!!

You've become the new OMCDave now.

HA-HA

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p..._76/nelson.jpg

lmao...

please...



brand me anything, BUT that.:rolleyes:

Is there any Asian movies with Zombies ?

It seems almost all Asian movies are just alike . They revolve around a girl, a ghost, and some technology object ( a camera, videotape, or cell phone )

Then you gotta a picture !

LIGHTS ! CAMERA ! CREEPY GIRL WITH HAIR OVER FACE ! ACTION ! Cut & Sell ....

30 million dollars in the bank. :D

Also, I HIGHLY recommend "The Host" . http://www.mininova.org/tor/501055 <-- Download here

To start try Versus, Stacy, Wild Zero, Junk, and Biozombie.

In addition to the ones mentioned by Des above,

- Kung Fu Zombie

- Kung Fu from Beyond the Grave

- Happiness of the Katakuris (great movie)

- A Chinese Ghost Story

- Battlefield Baseball

- Magic Cop (from the Mr. Vampire series)

- Return of the Chinese Boxer

- Shaolin vs Evil Dead

- Zombie vs Ninja aka Gravedigger

- SARS Wars

- Wild Zero



Good luck hunting 'em down. And happy viewing!!

Some good picks V, BB is hilarious and SARS Wars is out of control. Spooky Encounters AKA Encounters of the Spooky Kind, it has zombies and is a great horror comedy. I'd ALMOST say it's the Asian Evil Dead 2.

Which question was that?

About what would happen to the asian movie section now that you-know-who is banned...I posted a reply saying we have many members more informative than him who have been continuing to contribute to this place.

Its not like this Japanese Horror area was dead before him, or will be dead after him. You want recommendations...you ll get plenty more from all of us.

(btw are you a lady? cuz you highlighted that in PINK)

oh yeah i remember
chicks dig pink but that was magenta i was hoping you were a lady(cosses fingers) please be a lady

just kidding i'm a dude

so am I.

Anyway...the movies mentioned above should be good starters for you.

what about reincarnation? a good horror. also, i just finished azumi and it was pretty damn good. kaidan is supposed to be good but dated.

Re-incarnation is a decent watch. I would also recommend Infection, for those who havent seen it yet. A good little flick...original plot, plenty of gore, and some top-notch pacy stuff ever in a movie.

"Re-cycle" is KINDA new and, in my opinion, the best horror movie to come out of 2006. :cool: